1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to video games, and in particular, to technology for realizing a simulation video game which displays, in accordance with a game scenario, a plurality of mate characters or phenomena relating to a player character manipulated by a game player, and in which a game based on a game scenario particularly related to human relations develops in accordance with operations by the game player.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are simulation video games in which a game player manipulates a player character to have a conversation with a plurality of mate characters displayed on a display and in which the game player changes the characteristics of the player character so that human relations between the player character and each mate character can change. The game player enjoys the change in the human relations. These video games are realized as, for example, love-simulation games, which are popular in that a game player can enjoy virtual love with a mate character having responses similar to a real person.
This type of video game has entertaining features in that the game player can enjoy the subtlety in human relations. Accordingly, the entertaining features are greatly influenced by the settings of the player character, a human relation between the player character and each mate character, and the surroundings. In general, the settings are determined differently for each mate character in order that the entertaining features may be enhanced and developments in the game may be diverse. For example, a technique is often used in which, by using a setting in which a player character and a mate character know each other, the game story can have interesting developments.
When such a technique is used in conventional love-simulation games, in many cases, the acquaintanceship between the player character and the mate character is described after an event. This may cause the game player to lose interest when playing the game. In general, this problem exists not only in the love-simulation games but also in games having scenario-based developments through conversations between a player character and a mate character. Accordingly, a technique is in demand which enables the game player to recognize the inevitability of developments in the scenario, including the relationship between the player character and the mate character, more naturally.
In the games of the above-described type, a change in the characteristics of the player character often changes responses of the mate character to the player character. However, there is a case where initial values of personality factors relating to the characteristics of a player character, and in particular to a plurality of player characters, are only preset. In this case, the game player may be hindered from emphathizing with the player character. Although a technique is also employed which can determine initial values of personality factors by setting the initial values to reflect the personality of the game player, a process relating to the determination of the initial values may hinder the operation of the game scenario. Therefore, it is also difficult for this technique to enable easy empathy of the game player with the player character.
The present invention is intended to improve the above-described video games in which scenario-based contents are developed through conversations between a player character and each mate character.
Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a game-development control method and a game machine that execute a simulation video game while allowing a game player to more naturally recognize inevitability of scenario-based developments, including the relationship between a player character and each mate character, and a recording medium used with the method and the machine.
Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide a game-development control method and a game machine that allow a game player to perform smooth change of characteristics of a player character which reflect the personality of the game player so that the game player is not aware of the change in characteristics, and a recording medium used with the method and the machine.
To these ends, according to an aspect of the present invention, the foregoing objects are achieved through provision of a game-development control method for execution on a computer including a control means which displays, on a predetermined display unit, a plurality of mate characters or phenomena relating to a player character manipulated by a game player in accordance with a game scenario, and which develops a game based on the game scenario. The control means executes the steps of: dividing the game scenario into an introductory part including at least one pre-event and a subsequent main part including at least one event correlated with the one pre-event; recording, when each pre-event is generated in the introductory part, pre-event generation data generated based on the generation of each pre-event on a recording medium; and reading, when each event is generated, pre-event generation data correlated to each event among the pre-event generation data recorded in the recording medium, and reflecting the read pre-event generation data in the contents of each event.
This corresponds to a technology that executes the game, allowing the game player to naturally recognize the relationship between the player character and the mate character. In other words, according to this method, by allowing the game player to experience the pre-event through the player character in the introductory part, the game player is enabled to memorize specific settings, and in the subsequent main part, the game player is enabled to memorize an event correlated with the pre-event. According to this method, the player character experiences the pre-event correlated with the event beforehand. Thus, the need of post-explanation of the reason the event is generated and settings is eliminated, which enables the game player to accept the game settings very naturally. In the game-development control method in the Specification, the introductory part scenario can be separately created, and the introductory part can be set for only creating event data to be reflected in the contents of the main part.
The contents of the event and the pre-event may be freely set in accordance with the game scenario, and the contents of the event generated in the main part may have causality with the contents of any one of the pre-events. By setting the event and the pre-event to have the above-described relationship, the game player can intuitively understand that the event is generated because a pre-event (experienced by the game player via the player character) correlated therewith has ever occurred. Accordingly, the game player can understand settings in the scenario more naturally.
By way of example, in the game-development control method of the present invention, the introductory part scenario can be set to correspond to the childhood of the player character, and the main part scenario can be set to correspond to the youth of the player character. This is particularly effective when the present invention is applied to love-simulation games. In other words, by making the game player virtually experience, as an infant experience, the pre-event experienced in the introductory part corresponding to the childhood, and making the game player experience an event correlated with the pre-event in the main part corresponding to the youth, the infant experience the game player virtually experiences coincides with an infant experience held in accordance with settings by the player character in the game. Accordingly, the game player can more strongly feel a sense of unity with the player character, whereby the game player can be absorbed in the game scenario and can empathize with the player character without any difficulty.
The above-described method is also realized by controlling a predetermined computer, for example, a game-dedicated computer or a domestic computer to read a program code recorded on a recording medium.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the foregoing objects are achieved through provision of, as the predetermined computer, a game machine including an input unit for receiving operations from a game player; and a control unit for displaying, on a display unit, a plurality of mate characters or phenomena relating to a player character manipulated based on a game scenario by the game player. The control unit includes a scenario-control unit for dividing the game scenario into an introductory part including at least one pre-event and a subsequent main part including at least one event correlated with the one pre-event, and for developing a game based on the contents of an appropriate part of one of the introductory part and the main part, and an event-control unit for controlling the generation of each pre-event in the introductory part and recording, when each pre-event is generated in the introductory part, pre-event generation data generated based on the generation of each pre-event on a recording medium, the event-control unit also controlling the generation of each event in the main part and reading, when each event is generated in the main part, pre-event generation data correlated with each event among the pre-event generation data recorded on the recording medium, and for reflecting the read pre-event generation data in the contents of each event.
The program code in this Specification is a concept that includes data required for the game machine to execute the game, and control parameters, in addition to the program itself.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, the foregoing objects are achieved through provision of a computer-readable recording medium containing a program code for controlling a computer so that, when a plurality of mate characters or phenomena relating to a player character manipulated by a game player are displayed on a predetermined display unit in accordance with a game scenario, and the game scenario is developed, the computer executes the steps of: dividing the game scenario into an introductory part including at least one pre-event and a main part which follows the introductory part and which includes at least one event correlated with the one pre-event; recording, when each pre-event is generated in the introductory part, pre-event generation data generated based on the generation of each pre-event on a recording medium; and reading, when each event is generated, the pre-event generation data, which correspond to each event, from the recording medium, and reflecting the read pre-event generation data in the contents of each event.
This method corresponds to a technology for smoothly determining, without making the game player feeling the determination, the characteristics of the player character in which the personality of the game player is reflected. According to this method, the personality elements of the player character are determined based on pre-event generation data generated based on the type of an executed pre-event. The player character whose personality elements are determined reflecting the pre-event generation data have characteristics similar to the personality of the game player and the personality desired by the game player. Accordingly, the game player can easily empathize with the player character. The determination of the personality elements of the player character are performed based on the contents of an event generated in an introductory part temporally relating to the main part. Thus, the game player is not aware of the process of the determination, and is allowed to easily accept the determined characteristics of the player character.
In the present invention, as described above, the pre-event generation data can be used for the determination of the personality elements of the player character. By way of example, by correlating the magnitude of a change when the personality of the player character is changed with pre-event generation data, the pre-event generation data can be used for the determination of the personality elements of the player character. In addition, the pre-event generation data can be reflected in the initial values of any of the personality elements.
According to a still further aspect of the present invention, the foregoing objects are achieved through provision of a game-development control method for execution on a computer including a control unit which displays, on a predetermined display unit, a plurality of mate characters or phenomena relating to a player character manipulated by a game player in accordance with a game scenario, and which develops a game based on the game scenario. The control unit executes the steps of: dividing the game scenario into an introductory part including at least one pre-event and a subsequent main part including at least one event correlated with the one pre-event; recording, when each pre-event is generated in the introductory part, pre-event generation data generated based on the generation of each pre-event on a recording medium; and reading, when a personality element of the player character is determined in the main part, the pre-event generation data, which are correlated with the personality element, from the recording medium, and using the read data for the determination.
Preferably, the pre-event generation data are reflected in the initial value of any one the personality elements of the player character.
The above-described method of the present invention is also realized similarly to the first method by controlling a computer to read a program code recorded on a recording medium.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the foregoing objects are achieved through provision of a game machine including an input unit for receiving operations from a game player, and a control unit for displaying, on a display unit, a plurality of mate characters or phenomena relating to a player character manipulated based on a game scenario by the game player. The control unit includes a scenario-control unit for dividing the game scenario into an introductory part including at least one pre-event and a subsequent main part in which the scenario is developed based on a corresponding personality element of the player character having at least one personality element correlated with the pre-event, an event-control unit for controlling the generation of each pre-event in the introductory part and recording, when each pre-event is generated in the introductory part, pre-event generation data generated based on the generation of each pre-event on a recording medium, the event-control unit also controlling the generation of each event in the main part and reading, when each event is generated in the main part, pre-event generation data correlated with each event among the pre-event generation data recorded on the recording medium, and for reflecting the read pre-event generation data in the contents of each event.
According to a more aspect of the present invention, the foregoing objects are achieved through provision of a computer-readable recording medium containing a program code for controlling a computer so that, when a plurality of mate characters or phenomena relating to a player character manipulated by a game player are displayed on a predetermined display unit in accordance with a game scenario, and the game scenario is developed in accordance with operations by the game player, the program code executes the steps of: dividing the game scenario into an introductory part including at least one pre-event and a subsequent main part in which the scenario is developed based on a corresponding personality element of the player character having at least one personality element correlated with the pre-event; recording, when each pre-event is generated in the introductory part, pre-event generation data generated based on the generation of each pre-event on a recording medium; and reading, when a personality element of the player character is determined in the main part, the pre-event generation data, which are correlated with the personality element, from the recording medium, and reflecting the read data in the contents of the personality element.